The following comes from a Sept. 16 press release from the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, announced today a change in leadership of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, the Archdiocesan seminary located in Menlo Park. Most Reverend Thomas A. Daly, Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose, has been appointed interim President/Rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, effective October 1, 2013. He replaces Reverend James McKearney, S.S., who has served as President/Rector for the past four years and will continue to serve in ministry as a member of the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice.
Bishop Daly, 53, has been active in generating priestly vocations for many years. Prior to being appointed bishop, he was the president of Marin Catholic High School and also served as Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Bishop Daly is both a graduate of St. Patrick’s Seminary and a member of its Board of Trustees. He did his theological studies there prior to being ordained a priest in 1987. He is well known and respected by bishops throughout the region.
St. Patrick’s Seminary & University prepares priests for ministry not only in the Archdiocese of San Francisco but also in over ten other dioceses, including San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, and Orange. It currently has 93 seminarians, and last year, the most recent year for which statistics are available, its enrollment placed it as the eighth largest Catholic seminary in the United States.
Why was this done? Guess the Bishop does not have enough to do. Would someone please explain the reason behind this action.
Obviously something big is going on at St. Patrick’s that the article doesn’t disclose. Note that Bp. Daly is only an Interim President.
John, you join several hundred priests around Northern California in asking that question. We are all scratching our heads asking “Why?” and “What does this mean?” Believe me, conspiracy theories among the priests are rampant right now. And those who know the answers to the questions aren’t talking!
What. a negative comment. Bp. Daly has been admirable, respected and effective in every role designated to him. Ab Cordileone is placing good people in places that need them. He has already appointed Fr. Weber at the seminary to head up sacred music. Sounds like positive change is happening in SF. Training good priests is very positive!
The Archdiocese of San Jose has THIS to say about THAT in their newspaper, the Valley Catholic:
“Archbishop Cordileone said that this decision “in no way should be interpreted as an initial move to remove the care of the seminary from the Society of Saint Sulpice.
“On the contrary, the title of ‘interim’ rector is meant to convey that this position will remain in place only until a Sulpician candidate for rector can be found who has the proper qualifications, is experienced in administration, and is well-suited for the continued implementation of the strategic plan for the seminary.”
In a memorandum to the Board of Trustees of the seminary, Archbishop Cordileone noted “a number of serious concerns regarding administration matters,” and “the immediate need to address the seminary’s finances and need for an organized and serious development effort. There is need for a new rector to take charge in order to move in the direction of the strategic plan being developed to address these issues.”
So, apparently there were problems with money, administration, discipline, etc.
Suzanne, thanks for the reference to the San Jose article. That sheds some light on the situation. I have to admit to being surprised that the seminary has financial problems since it has been full or nearly full for a number of years. If St. Pat’s can’t support itself with high numbers of seminarians and high tuition, one has to wonder about its future viability.
First order of business should be to send the “gay seminarian’s” home…we don’t need anymore actively homosexual priest’s being ordained who as we all now know are “ticking time-bombs”…all it takes is one flash of the “hot eye”…and these queen’s will be off to the races! Also, the pedophilia issue is grave when one even entertains the notion of ordaining a queen into the ministerial priesthood…you get my drift
Steven Joto: I was under the impression that the practice of accepting homosexual seminarians was a thing of the past. Do you have any documented evidence that this crazy notion is still operative? One should think the church has learned a very painsful lesson; if she hasn’t. we are not out of the woods yet.
Documented evidence Anton?…How bout you take a tour of saint John’s in camarillo this week…have some lunch up there, and speak to the seminarian’s…that’s all the documentation you’ll need brother-man!…
Thank you Steven! I was under the impression that the rules initiated by Pope Benedict had been implemented. But then again, the American church is as usual marching to their own drummer. A most DEPRESSING retrogression! We can expect a new generation of queens to engage in an encore presentation, unless our new pope cracks down unmercifully.
Stephen ~ I get your drift, but the Pope disagrees with you. Also – isn’t it the same thing if a priest has a “hot eye” for the ladies and can’t control it?
A priest who can’t remain celibate can always laicize himself and go on with his life. A homosexual is potentially far more dangerous and should never be allowed in active ministry where he has contact with adolescent boys. These perverts are ticking time bombs, as another correspondent so aptly put it. When are our bishops going to get serious?
No…it’s not the same thing…a priest who likes the ladies…at least this is healthy…would you rather he have the “hot” for men, or boys?…think a bit more clearly my friend…at least if a priest falls with a woman, that is the natural order of human sexuality, as bad as what he did may be…on the other hand if he gets his jollies buggering men, this is an ABOMINATION!…a sin that cry’s to Heaven for vengeance…also, gay men who are priest’s have a proclivity toward seducing young men, who are underage, this is a crime, it’s also called pederasty…get my drift?
Stephen thank you for setting the record straight. The elephant in the room for secular media AND the USCCB is that over 80% of the sex scandals in the Church were pederasty NOT pedophilia. If the truth were known, the cat would be out-of-the-bag about those with same-sex-attraction and their proclivity to young boys casting a definite dark cloud over that life style instead of a pretty rainbow.
Amen SJ!
Our Church seems incapable of producing any sizable number of holy priests
( those who do not have gay tendencies) so why add to our troubles by trying to accommodate those with homosexual problems?
Makes little sense, all things considered.
This could also have something to do with the recent embezzlement scandals at the seminary. Perhaps the seminary decided new leadership was needed to firm up the donor base.
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2013-04-02/st-patricks-seminary-and-university-worker-accused-of-theft/1765903.html
Dave, thank you so very much for the link to this story.
It certainly backs up what the Diocese of San Jose said about the need for someone better with money, administration, etc.
How very sad that people who choose to work for the Catholic Church use that very same Church to enrich themselves…these two women in the story are a sad example indeed.
Dave: Thank you for this “trouvaille”. Nothing spooks potential donors like a major rip-off, as described in the article. It is a manifestation of a sloppy management culture. People who donate their hard-earned cash want accountability. They deserve it.
C&H:
There is one important difference between the two groups of seminarians in my experience. If a straight seminarian has eyes on the ladies, peer pressure from the other straight seminarians will push him out of seminary. If a gay seminarian is cruising for sex or has a “partner” among the seminarians, the other gay seminarians excuse the behavior and keep it out of the public eye to avoid getting the man kicked out of seminary.
I saw this behavior pattern multiple times during my time in seminary and hear from seminarians even now that this sort of thing continues to goes on.
Fr. Michael I believe you. It is even happening now in the secular in other situations.
I agree Fr. Mike…i knew a priest who was a wonderful cleric from Ireland…he struggled with liquor and the women were drawn to him like catnip…he screwed up a few times, even bedded a couple…he felt great remorse and sought forgiveness…should he have left the priesthood?…maybe…point being, he never pursued the women, and used his collar as a means of seduction, he was just a charismatic man’s-man, and women were drawn to him, like moth’s to a flame…I knew the man, he was better than most modernist priest’s I have encountered and his theology was very, very, traditional…nuff said!
I beleive Pope Benedict XVI put in place a law that does not allow Gay Men into the Seminary. I beleive that is still the law;
Search Google for “New Rules Affirm Pope Benedict’s Stance Against Gays”
Pope Francis has said that ‘If someone is of good faith and they seek the Lord, he would welcome them. This is in line with Catholic teaching. He has however been quick to excommunicate gay activists.
So as far as I can tell, the Benedict XVI rule is still in force.
WS, unfortunately the admonitions of Blessed John XXIII and Pope Benedict XVI in this regard were never enforced in the US. If you want to raise the hair on the back of your neck, read “Goodbye Good Men” by Michael Rose. That is the environment 40 years of seminarians experienced and AFAIK still experience to some extent.
I have read the book, and it will make you sick to know what is or has been happening in our seminaries over the years. They don’t call the seminaries “pink schools” for nothing. It may have changed in the past few years, but the book points out that the leadership of the seminaries and its teachers would not abide a seminarian that was not gay. They did everything possible to get them kicked out.
This rule is in force…and yes I am glad, is it being enforced?…have “ALL” the queen’s been ejected from the seminary?…methinks not!…take a spin out to camarillo, and speak to some of the “likely lad’s”…use your own powers of discernment, and make a determination based on that…”the proof is in the pudding”, as they say…get my drift?
Gee…I sure hope that the vocation director’s for the seminary and religious life are following the pope’s edict on not accepting “gays” into the seminary or religious life…many religious communities are overrun with homosexual men, wearing habit’s and collars…do we really need this folks?…uh-uh…send them home and laicize the lot of them…the fruity presence they display is not only scandalous but repugnant…a shock to any lay Catholic’s sense of decent shame…you savvy?
you prejudiced, saavy?
Take a breath everybody. Just be glad a good bishop with the proper experience is taking this post. Pray for him!
Gathering from what I know and have read about St. Patrick’s sodomite infestation,, Bishop Daly has his work cut out for him and will need many prayers!
May God have mercy on an amoral America!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Anonymous asked…you prejudiced much?…yup…I can’t stand men that get their jollies sodomizing other men, and those who indulge in this perversion sicken me…you savvy?
My husband and I visit St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo quite often during the course of a year and knew or know several of the seminarians and many of the leaders of the seminary as well as priests who are graduates and functioning beautifully in their priestly roles. I also invite readers to attend any public functions, fund raising events, or lectures, many of which are free, at St. John’s, not with an eye to seeking proof of scandal, but seeking to be spiritually uplifted in the presence of so many fine and Godly men.
It is hard enough to be a seminarian, as can be readily understood with even a superficial inquiry into the undertaking, without also being the unwitting subject of scorn and lasting suspicion by the so-called lay faithful of the Catholic Church, who seem not to support the tremendous good work that has been and is presently being done again with profound love of God and dedication to serving God through serving His Church and its members, so many of whom I could not myself serve well under such a burden of unwarranted malice of word.
Let us see goodness and honor where it exists and not condemn the very seminaries that have been serving the needs of the Catholic Church to the best of their abilities since they were founded, cleansing themselves as necessary when mere human beings set themselves to the profoundly significant task of becoming holy men and worthy servants of God and His flock.
God bless you, Maryanne, for your loving and positive words about the Los Angeles seminary.
I have visited our Archdiocesan seminary, St Patrick in Menlo Park, and it is always a moving and spiritual experience.
I sure hope so maryanne…I surely do…as a former religious I can speak with some level of certainty and brevity in this area…slowly, inexorably things have begun to change…for the better…you cannot tell me that this place is not infested with queen’s…even if they conceal this fact and lie and about it…they know the truth of the matter…and I can assure you, it’s rather difficult to bamboozle me, with clever prose and a silver-tongue (rather finger,LOL!)…the proof is in the pudding as they say…